Odds and Ends

Here we sit, the wind howling and the snow piling up outside. Snuggled in by the fire with a sleepy Teddy sprawled on his back. Pots of tea, piles of books, studio time. Here's what I'm reading. In the fun fiction department, Janet Evanovich, Bounty Hunter. Hilarious.


and this amazing book, The Found Object in Textile Art by Cas Holmes.

I've got a copy of Drawn to Stitch by Gwen Hedley sitting here as well.

I'm finding these books to be hugely inspiring as my artwork has been yearning for a more tactile surface. There has been a whispering going on for some time now. The ideas presented in these two books are introducing me to techniques to bring it together. The art in both books is spectacular.

I've also been thinking about this post, Socks Going Feral from a couple of years ago. I am still wondering how that sock escaped from my son's window.

Recycle T-Shirts

{Whim Year} I was reading The Alabama Stitch Book over the winter and decided to weed out any t-shirts that gave me that special Winnie-The-Pooh look (you know the shirts that seem to shrink UP, arrgh!) Cutting the shirts up immediately was part of the process: no going back!  These luscious bits of fabric would wait until the right moment. 

Which came recently. T-towel (tee-hee) detail below.

Fun. And I learned some new things. 

1. This is called reverse applique. I was working in this way with my paper collages and thinking of the mola textile art of Central and South America. Look here. 

2. T-shirt material is really hard to sew through. I wonder if there is a special needle? I love my thimble.